Moth Scanner Build Instructions
Material List
| Components | Material | Dimensions |
|---|---|---|
| Base plate | PVC (or wood, etc) | 32 x 24 x 1 cm (depending on camera lens) |
| White screen | glassy polymer / acrylic glass / polyethylene plate | 32 x 24 cm (depending on camera lens) |
| Base to screen connector | Bracket | up to ~ ½ of screen height for stability |
| Base rack | aluminium profile T-profile | 5 x 5 x 95 cm |
| Light holder | aluminium rod | 50 cm, 1cm diameter |
| Light holding chain | chain + carabiner | 0,5 cm diameter |
| Light | LepiLED | Model "Maxi Switch" |
| Light Power source | 15+ Watt USB power adaptor | |
| Camera holder | aluminium base plate + height adjustment + camera stand head (Calumet QR Stativkopf für Einbeinstative) | height adapted to white screen center |
| Camera | Sony alpha 6000 | |
| Camera Lense | Sony FE 35mm F1.8 | |
| Camera power source | Sony A7 power adaptor | |
| Raspberry Pi case | surface-mounted distributor box for electronic components | 16 x 9 x 18 cm |
| Raspberry Pi | includes e-paper display (DEBO EPA 2.7) and relais shield (Waveshare Raspberry Pi Power Relay Board) | RPi 4 model B |
| Connectors | USB extension cables for connection | 1m |
The white screen was roughened with sandpaper and is attached to a base plate (1cm thick) with double-sided adhesive tape. An angle piece holds it atop of the aluminium profile. The length of the aluminium profile depends on lens. We chose 95cm to be compatible with the Sony focusable lens, but with the used screen size and a fixed-angle lense 80cm would suffice.
As the lamp consumes most of the power, it is practical to be able to switch it off during daytime. For this, the lamp was connected over an USB extension cable with a power supply that is software-controlled over the Rapsberry Pi relais shield.
Power consumption
The power consumption of the single components:
| Average power consumption | |
|---|---|
| Camera | 3W |
| LepiLED (UV-Light) | 7W |
| LepiLED (UV + visible light) | 14W |
| Raspberry Pi | 3W |
| Full system | ~17-20W |
Pictures
The distributor box is water resistant and can be mounted on the aluminium profile.
The e-paper shield of the Raspberry Pi has buttons that can be assigned specific functions, e.g. to re-connect the camera, to take a picture, etc.
Due to the longer rod, the lamp has an adjustable height:
